Latest / The DTC Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Direct-to-Consumer Brands, Shopify, and E-Commerce Growth / How DTC Brands Use Customer Wishlists for Product Launches
Transcript
- Lucas: There's this moment every DTC marketer knows: you've built the product, you've shot the assets, you've written the copy — and launch day comes, and the sales trickle in instead of pouring. Luna: That's the worst feeling. All that work, and the audience just didn't show up. Lucas: Right. And a lot of that comes down to timing. You're asking people to buy something they didn't know existed five minutes ago. But what if you could get them to signal intent before you even announce the product? Luna: You're talking about wishlists. Lucas: Exactly. The humble wishlist — it's usually treated as a forgotten feature buried in the account page. But some DTC brands are turning it into a launch weapon. And the data is surprisingly good. Luna: What's the case you're thinking of? Lucas: A midsize skincare brand — let's call them Bloom & Bright — they had a new vitamin C serum coming out. Instead of a typical pre-order, they put up a simple 'Add to Wishlist' button on a teaser page three weeks before launch. No price, no ship date, just a hero shot and a one-line benefit. Luna: And people actually added it? Lucas: Five thousand people. In three weeks. That's 5,000 email addresses of people who said, 'I want this.' No discount, no incentive. Just the product and the promise. Luna: That's remarkable. And then what happened at launch? Lucas: They sent a single email to that wishlist segment at 9 AM Eastern: 'Your wishlist item is now available — and it's limited.' They sold out in 72 hours. They had produced 4,500 units, so they actually oversold slightly, but they knew the demand was there because the wishlist told them. Luna: So the wishlist acted as a demand forecast. That changes the inventory conversation completely. Lucas: Exactly. Most DTC brands guess — they look at past launches, maybe survey their email list. But a wishlist is a revealed preference. It's not 'I might buy this' in a survey — it's 'I took an action to save this.' That's a much stronger signal. Luna: And it feeds into the psychology of scarcity, too. If you see a product has 500 wishlist adds, you think, 'Other people want this — maybe I should get it now.' Lucas: Yes. Social proof meets urgency. Some brands even display a live counter: '1,200 people have wishlisted this item.' It's like a pre-order meter without the commitment of taking payment upfront. Luna: What's the technical side? How do you actually set this up on Shopify? Lucas: There are several apps. Wishlist Plus is probably the most common — it's free for basic features, and it integrates with Klaviyo and Mailchimp. Growave is another one, especially if you already use it for reviews and loyalty. Both let you trigger automated flows based on wishlist activity. Luna: So you can send a reminder when the product is back in stock, or when the price drops. Lucas: Right. But the most powerful flow is the pre-launch sequence. You capture the wishlist add, then you can send a series: a week before launch, a day before, and then the launch email. Each one builds anticipation. And because the person opted in implicitly, the open rates are high. Luna: What kind of open rates? Lucas: One brand I spoke with saw 55 percent open rate on the launch email to their wishlist segment, compared to 22 percent on their general list. And click-through rate was 12 percent — triple their normal. Luna: That's a massive difference. And it makes sense — the wishlist segment is pre-qualified. Lucas: The other thing is that wishlist data can inform production. If you're a small brand with limited capital, you don't want to overproduce. Bloom & Bright only made 4,500 units because they saw 5,000 wishlist adds — and they knew maybe 70 to 80 percent would convert, so 4,500 was a safe bet. Luna: So it's essentially a non-binding pre-order. Lower friction for the customer, better data for the brand. Lucas: Exactly. And it works for more than just product launches. Some brands use wishlist data to decide which product variations to offer. If a color or size gets very few wishlist adds, maybe you skip it in the first run. Luna: That's smart. You're letting customer intent guide your SKU strategy. Lucas: Right. And there's a psychological layer here called the endowment effect. Once someone puts an item on their wishlist, they start to feel a sense of ownership over it. It's 'my wishlist' — that product is now part of their mental shopping cart. When you send the launch email, you're essentially saying, 'the thing you already own in your mind is now available.' Luna: That's a powerful frame. It's not 'buy this new thing' — it's 'claim what's yours.' Lucas: Exactly. And it converts higher because the decision has already been made emotionally. The launch email just triggers the action. Luna: Are there any risks? Like, what if you get a lot of wishlist adds but low conversion? Then you've overproduced based on bad signals. Lucas: That's a fair concern. But the data shows that wishlist conversion rates are typically quite high — 40 to 60 percent for well-executed launches. It's a stronger signal than email sign-ups or social likes. Still, you should test it. Start with a small batch, see your conversion rate, then scale. Luna: And you can always use the wishlist for retargeting later. If someone added but didn't buy, you can send them a cart abandonment-style sequence. Lucas: Exactly. And some brands even use wishlist data to segment for future launches. If someone wishlisted your vitamin C serum, they're a strong candidate for your retinol launch. Luna: It builds a personalized launch calendar for each customer. That's the kind of targeting you can't get from broad email blasts. Lucas: Right. And speaking of email — it's worth mentioning that this entire strategy works best when you have a good email capture mechanism on the wishlist page. Bloom & Bright required an email to add to wishlist. That's a trade-off: you get a smaller but more engaged list. Luna: I've seen some brands let you add without an email, but then they can't follow up. That seems like a missed opportunity. Lucas: It is. The whole point is to capture intent and then act on it. Without the email, the wishlist is just a bookmark. It's still useful for the customer, but not for the brand. Luna: So if a brand wants to start tomorrow, what's the first step? Lucas: Install a wishlist app — Wishlist Plus is free to start. Then create a 'Coming Soon' collection on your Shopify store with the new product set to 'hidden' but accessible via a direct link. Add the wishlist button. Then promote that link to your existing audience — email, social, SMS — with a simple message: 'Be the first to know when this drops.' Luna: And then set up the automated flows before you even promote. That way, when people start adding, the emails are ready to go. Lucas: Exactly. Test the flow with a small segment first. You can even run a private link to your most engaged customers — get their wishlist data, then use that to refine your messaging for the broader launch. Luna: It's a low-risk, high-reward strategy. The only cost is the app and the time to set it up. Lucas: And the biggest risk is not trying it. So many brands launch blind. If your marketing conversations have sparked ideas you've actually used, that's the whole point — we want these to be actionable. And we keep the show ad-free because we think that makes the advice more trustworthy. If you find that valuable, you can support that choice at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just an option. Luna: Yeah, it's a nice way to keep the signal clean. Anyway — back to wishlists. Lucas, do you see any brands using wishlist data to personalize the on-site experience? Lucas: Absolutely. Some advanced setups use wishlist data to dynamically populate a 'Most Wishlisted' section on the homepage. It's like a live demand heat map. And if a customer is logged in, you can show them a 'Your Wishlist' reminder right on the product page. Luna: That's a nice touch. It reduces friction for the return visit. Lucas: And it keeps the wishlist top of mind. The more you surface it, the more likely they'll use it again. That creates a virtuous cycle of intent data. Luna: I think the key takeaway is that wishlists are underutilized. Most brands treat them as a feature, not a strategy. Lucas: Exactly. And in a world where acquisition costs keep going up, any tool that lets you convert existing interest into sales more efficiently is worth a serious look.